Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1887-06-11
NATURAL GAS.
An Exampie-HOw Los Angeles
Can be Iiiu minated.

An Exampie-HOw Los Angeles
Can be Hin minated.
EDITOR HERALD wish to call the at
tention of the readers of your paper to
few facts connected with the grand
natural gas illumination of the town of
Findlay, Ohio. on June Sth. There were
thirty-one gas wells in that vicinity,
which were piped into the town to aid in
its illuminating at the display the other
night. There were $4,000 gas Jets
afame and they made the place as light
as day. Thirty thousand strangers were
attracted to it by the beauty and bril-.
liancy of the scene.
A short time since Findlay was strug-
Cling along, trying to exc out an exist
ence somehow. 1t no more dreamed of
boom than the average citizen OF
Los Angeles ten years ago dreamed of
The present high prices of real estate.
There were a few hundred people in
Findlay striving to keep a spark of
Christianity alive. They had a little,
oAoY
debt, and no minister. A young man,
just from college, heard of their doleful
plight, sent them word be would come
for mere nominal sum, and take charge
of the forlorn hope. He was accepted.
He liked the congregation, they liked
him. They soon found that the new
minister had the good of every mans
present welfare at heart, as well as his
eternal future. They also found that
he had what none of them possessed-a
liberal scientific education. They were
delighted to hear him express his ideas
in clear, concise, common sense terms
They filled the little, old church as it
never had been filled before, and began
to take an interest in the church.; said
they would really like to raise the mort
gage.
The young man, armed with Gods
battle AK, sharpened by science, prom
ised to give course OF lectures If the
church members would all attend, every
evening during the week. 1t was not
without little misgiving that they all
promised to attend. When men toll all
day at the work shop, or pillow in the
held, they are not eager at night to 60
in clean toilet, mile or half mile,
or even around the corner, and speed
two or three hours listening to some
prosy old story that will never do them
a nickle's worth of good. But they had
promised. and they went.
The minister with his natural eye, made
intelligent by learning, had been look
ing at the ground over which he had
daily passed from the time Of his arrival
in the little village of Findlay. In a
sort of inspirational way ne told his
hearers of hidden wealth that they had
been walking over for years without
knowing how easy it was to utilize il
and make it their own. The sleepy,
tired, discouraged men were all alert in
a moment, listening with both ears as
they never had listened to any of his
discourses before. Next day they went
out and dug as they never had before,
and they were rewarded Just as the
man of God had told them they would
be--with natural gas; and to-day your
paper relates by telegraph one result OF
their labor-the bright illumination OF
their town with 10000 jets, and 30, 00C
strangers TO witness it. 1t is useless to
say that the church mortgage was lifted
when the telegram states that fifty
arches spanned Main street, arranged
with gas jets bearing notices. They
have boom in that town that will last,
and there is not a town in Southern
California but can be lighted as easily
and with just as many gas jets and with
no more expense.
Petroleum is here in abundance, but
the way to utilize it and make it OF
value to the people is problem yet to
be solved. This difficulty has been met
| by scientific Invention, which by .
chemical analysis will change this now
almost useless commodity, crude petro-
leum, into brilliant Illuminating gas,
carrying with it the same brilliancy and
exact quantities of the natural gas. Ii
the process could be adopted ard all OF
our towns lighted. the great movement
here 10 real estate would be still greater
than it now is, A cheap light is one OF
the necessities of civilized home of the
present day.